Within Europe, every type of multinational market grouping exists:
The European Union
European Economic Area,
The European Free Trade Area
No other group is more secure or more important economically than the EU
It has made progress toward achieving the goal of complete economic integration and, ultimately, political union
There are language and cultural differences, individual national interests, political differences, and centuries-old restrictions designed to protect local national markets
Historically, standards have been used to effectively limit market access to individual countries (Germany: Beer, Italy: Pasta)